Dallas-Area Nightclub Owners Sentenced for Cocaine Trafficking

SHERMAN, TX—A Dallas-area husband and wife have been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

Jose Torres Mijares, 61, pleaded guilty on June 27, 2012, to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced 327 months in federal prison on August 12, 2013, by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone. His wife, 47-year-old Leticia Norma Munoz, pleaded guilty on April 10, 2012, to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison on August 12, 2013, by Judge Crone.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of firearms and over $300,000 that had been seized during a search of the couple’s residence.

Another man, Jose Luis Perez, 47, of Dallas, pleaded guilty on November 11, 2012, to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison.

According to information presented in court, Mijares and Munoz owned and operated the El Palacio Bar, the El Jimador Bar, the Circle 33 Bar, and Ladies Bar and Night Club in Dallas. They were arrested on November 14, 2011, and accused of using these businesses to distribute large quantities of cocaine.

This case is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) joint investigation. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Texas Department of Public Safety, Plano Police Department, Denton Police Department, Collin County District Attorney’s Office, and it was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.